"I believe it is a matter of conscience, fairness and preventing discrimination," Lynch told The Associated Press.

New Hampshire would become the fourth state to adopt civil unions, following Connecticut, Vermont and New Jersey. Massachusetts established gay marriage.

Lynch had previously declined to take a public position on civil unions, though has supported expanding health benefits to same-sex partners of state workers. He came under fire from both sides for not weighing in especially after a delay last week of the Senate vote on the House-passed bill.

Tango’s Take
Live Free Or Die! This bill was a no-brainer for New Hampshire. Honestly, when the rubber hits the road you can always count on New Hampshire to come in on the side of individual rights. At one point in the past the Libertarian Party tried to convince members to move to NH in order to gain Electoral College votes. It hasn’t happened yet, but this law is likely something that the keep-the-government-out-of-our-bedrooms crowd could really be proud of. This kind of thinking is why the Granite State was the first to declare independence from Great Britain.